Atlanta Spirit President & CEO Bernie Mullin (left), Al Harrington and Hawks GM Billy Knight are all smiles at Thursday's press conference.
NBA.com: Al Harrington Profile ATLANTA, GA (July 15, 2004) ----- The Atlanta Hawks have obtained forward Al Harrington from the Indiana Pacers in a trade for swingman Stephen Jackson, it was announced this afternoon by General Manager Billy Knight.
“This was a great opportunity to continue improving our roster and Al adds a great deal of size and experience to our young club,” said Knight. “In 1998, I participating in the discussion to select him in the Draft, so I am very familiar with his abilities. He will give us tremendous options at both forward positions, and he excels at putting the ball on the floor and creating his own shot.”
Second to Antawn Jamison in voting for the 2003-04 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, Harrington (right) averaged a career high 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Pacers, ranking third on the team in both categories, and shot 46.3% from the field and .734 from the FT line. Of his 12 double-doubles (second most on the team), 11 came as a reserve, the second most in the NBA to Orlando’s Drew Gooden (13). Harrington started in 15 of 79 games this year, with the Pacers recording a 12-3 mark in those games. He had 12 double-doubles – 11 as a reserve – the second most in the NBA to Orlando’s Drew Gooden’s 13.
During the 2004 Playoffs, Harrington registered 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in 16 games on 43 percent shooting from the field, his best postseason showing to date. In Indiana’s first round series against Boston, he was the Pacers’ leading scorer off the bench with 14.5 ppg in four games. He followed that up with averages of 7.7 and 8.0 points in playoff series against Miami and Detroit.
A 6-9 forward from Orange, New Jersey, Harrington prepped at St. Patrick’s High in Elizabeth, NJ and he was the first player ever drafted from the high school ranks by the Pacers. Selected 25th in 1998 Draft, the fifth-year pro was named USA Today’s National Player of the Year as well as a 1998 McDonald’s High School All-American after his senior season.
Harrington brings career averages of 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds to Atlanta, while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and .734 from the charity stripe. In a December 23, 2002 game against his new team, he tallied a career-high 40 points on 15-of-25 field goals (2-2 3FGs) and eight-of-nine FT attempts.
Jackson, a 6-8 swingman who has four years of NBA experience, averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season in his only campaign with the Hawks.
Atlanta Hawks season tickets can be purchased by calling (404) 827-DUNK or by visiting the team's web site at www.hawks.com. The Hawks, a member of the National Basketball Association since 1949, will open the 2004-05 campaign in the newly-created Southeast Division, along with the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.
Left: Al Harrington with Hawks VP of Basketball Dominique Wilkins. Right: Harrington with Atlanta Spirit LLC co-owners Rutherford Seydel and Michael Gearon Jr.
HARRINGTON’S CAREER AVERAGES | ||||||||||||||||
| REBOUNDS PER GAME | ||||||||||||||||
YEAR | TEAM | G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
98-99 | IND | 21 | 0 | 7.6 | .321 | .000 | .600 | 1.00 | .90 | 1.90 | .2 | .19 | .10 | .52 | 1.20 | 2.1 |
99-00 | IND | 50 | 0 | 17.1 | .458 | .235 | .703 | .90 | 2.20 | 3.20 | .8 | .50 | .18 | 1.30 | 2.60 | 6.6 |
00-01 | IND | 78 | 38 | 24.3 | .444 | .143 | .656 | 1.50 | 3.40 | 4.90 | 1.7 | .81 | .23 | 1.90 | 2.90 | 7.5 |
01-02 | IND | 44 | 1 | 29.8 | .475 | .333 | .799 | 2.20 | 4.10 | 6.30 | 1.2 | .93 | .48 | 1.77 | 3.80 | 13.1 |
02-03 | IND | 82 | 37 | 30.1 | .434 | .283 | .770 | 1.90 | 4.30 | 6.20 | 1.5 | .87 | .40 | 1.99 | 3.40 | 12.2 |
03-04 | IND | 79 | 15 | 30.9 | .463 | .273 | .734 | 2.10 | 4.40 | 6.40 | 1.7 | 1.01 | .28 | 2.06 | 3.20 | 13.3 |
Career | 354 | 91 | 25.8 | .451 | .256 | .736 | 1.70 | 3.60 | 5.30 | 1.4 | .80 | .30 | 1.77 | 3.00 | 10.1 | |
Playoff | 25 | 2 | 22.8 | .371 | .182 | .556 | 1.70 | 3.40 | 5.10 | .8 | 1.16 | .48 | 1.56 | 3.40 | 7.0 | |
Childress, selected sixth overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, was the first-ever Stanford player named Pac-10 Player of the Year and he also garnered first team All-America honors from the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and FoxSports.com. Childress averaged 15.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and led the Cardinal in blocked shots. 
"Fans will see the same level of intensity he displayed on the court as an opponent of mine, a teammate of mine and as an assistant coach. We'll be well prepared and compete hard every night on both ends of the floor as he takes our team to another level. Mike will represent our organization very well and I look forward to working with him." 
Heard (right), a member of the Grizzlies since 1996-97, was one of the organization's national scouts during their years in Vancouver and Memphis, following three years on the collegiate level at the University of California (Berkeley). After one season as an administrative assistant, Heard became an assistant coach on then-coach Todd Bozeman's staff, where he worked with former Hawks and Grizzlies forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. 
Having more than a decade of experience in the NBA in various scouting positions, McNeive (right), worked as an assistant coach/advance scout for the Hawks last season after spending several years with the Milwaukee Bucks. In addition to aiding the coaching staff in their game preparation for upcoming opponents, his responsibilities included working with the development of players by focusing on their fundamentals, providing individual instruction and workouts before practices and games.